Floyd Mayweather to make MMA debut in Japan

Amid rumours of a potential rematch with Manny Pacquiao and another cross-promotional fight against UFC fighter Khabib Nurmagomedov, it has today been confirmed that Floyd Mayweather has signed a deal with Japanese mixed martial arts organization Rizin and will make his debut against kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa.

Scheduled to take place in the Japanese city of Saitama on new year’s eve, the rules and format of the bout have yet to be revealed, as Mayweather has never fought professionally outside of boxing.

Speaking at a press conference held in Tokyo earlier today, Mayweather – who last fought against Conor McGregor in August of last year – said the specifics would be ironed out in the next few weeks.

“I wanted to do something different,” claimed the 41-year-old ‘Money’, who said the want to expand his brand globally motivated his decision. “I have fought in the US for all 50 of my fights. As a professional I haven’t had a chance to go outside the US to display my skills and to display my talent for the world.”

On top of his 27-0 kickboxing record, Nasukawa has also won all four of his MMA fights, and admitted that although he was surprised to receive the offer to fight Mayweather he accepted the offer “without hesitation”.

The decision has seen Mayweather already receive widespread criticism for another perceived money-making exercise after his experiment against MMA fighter McGregor last time out, where the American promised it would be the “last one” of its nature that he would partake in.